With six days left before Boston voters choose the two finalists in a historic mayoral battle, City Councilor John Connolly leads the field with former state Rep. Charlotte Golar Ritchie in striking distance to make the final cut, a new Suffolk University/Boston Herald poll reveals.

Connolly is on top of the tightly-bunched mayoral pack with 16 percent of the vote, while Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and state Rep. Martin J. Walsh are close behind with 12 percent each, according to the Suffolk/Herald poll of 600 likely Boston voters.

Richie, aiming to become the first African American and first female mayor in Boston's storied history, has climbed to 10 percent - double what she got in a Suffolk/Herald poll on July 16.

The race is so tight that the top two spots could be decided by just a few hundred votes.

"Every vote truly does count and Walsh, Conley, and Richie better have their recount teams in place just to be safe," said Paleologos.

But the poll shows just 19 percent of voters are now undecided, making it relatively tough for Richie or another of the 11 contenders running behind to move up before the Sept. 24 preliminary election.

"If undecided voters continue to break relatively evenly among many candidates, the net result is that a candidate can gain some ground but not substantial ground," Paleologos said.

The poll reveals the rest of the field is tightly bunched together, with City Councilor Rob Consalvo in fifth place at 8 percent of likely voters, just ahead of former hospital CEO Bill Walczak and City Councilor Felix Arroyo, who are tied at 6 percent.

Running further behind are City Councilor Michael Ross with 5 percent of the vote, and neighborhood activist and former School Committee member John Barros at 3 percent.

The poll taken Sept. 12-17, ending just last night, has a margin of error of 4 percent (+/-).